What is Schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorder that affects about 1% of Americans.

What are the symptoms of Schizophrenia?
There are several types of Symptoms of Schizophrenia:

Delusions, a loss or a decrease in th ability to initiate plans, speak, express emotion or find pleasure in everyday life = These symptoms are harder to recognize as part of the disorder and can be mistaken for laziness or depression.

What causes Schizophrenia?

Like most other diseases, schizophrenia is believed to result form a combination of enviromental and genetic factors.

Scientists have long believed that Schizophrenia runs in families. It is seen in 10 percent of people with a first-degree relative (a parent, brother or sister) with the disorder. People who have second-degree relatives (aunts, uncles, grandparents, or cousins) with the disease also develop schizophrenia more often than the general population.

Besides genetics scientist believe that enviromental issues may cause it.

Many enviromental factors have been suggested as risk factors, such as exposure to viruses or malnutrition in the womb, problems during birth, and psychosocial factors, like stressful enviromental conditions.

Who is effected by schizophrenia?
Symptoms usually develop in men in their late teens or early twenties and women in their twenties and thirties but in very rare cases can appear in childhood.

Is their treatment for Schizophrenia?
Diagnosing schizophrenia can be quite difficult and sometimes its symptoms can be confused with other medical conditions. Symptoms of Schizophrenia are quite similar to those caused by brain injury, surgery or drug abuse. There is no physical test that can prove that someone has schizophrenia, and there is no cure for Schizophrenia instead a diagnosis is made based on your symptoms to find a treatment for you.


Though there is no cure for schizophrenia a wide variety of treatments are available to sufferers with the disorder. These treatments may not alway be so effective but they can supress the symptoms of Schizophrenia.



Resources:
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml
http://www.medicinenet.com/schizophrenia/page2.htm

http://www.epigee.org/mental_health/schizophrenia_treatment.html